Time: 7:30 pm, May 14th and 15th, 2021
Venue: New Tsinghua Xuetang
Synopsis
The three-act opera is one of the greatest works by the famous Italian composer Giacomo Puccini. It tells a Chinese legend; part of the music in the opera adopts the tune of the popular Chinese folk song "Jasmine".
Determined to avenge her ancestor’s abduction, the Chinese Princess Turandot announces that if a man solves her three riddles correctly, she will marry him; but if he fails to do so, he will be put to death. Over the past three years, many unlucky souls will lose their lives. When the Tatar Prince Calaf, who has been in exile in the Yuan Dynasty, is reunited with his father Timur and his maid Liu in Beijing, he sees in horror that Turandot herself executes the Persian Prince for failing to solve the riddles.
Yet Prince Calaf can’t help but feel more attracted to Princess Turandot for her captivating beauty. Despite strong opposition from his father, Liu, and three of his ministers, he goes to Princess Turandot in high hopes of marrying her and answers all the three riddles correctly. But much to his dismay, she refuses to admit defeat, let alone to marry him. And so the Prince comes up with his own riddle. He declares if the princess can guess his name before dawn, he will put himself to death rather than marrying her.
To solve the riddle, the Princess captures the Prince’s father Timur and the maid Liu, and tortures them to extract a confession. Liu commits suicide to keep the secret. Prince Calaf accuses Princess Turandot of being heartless. Dawn breaks, and the Princess has no clue about the Prince's name, and at long last she is compelled to bend to the Prince’s wish to marry her.
The Prince's kiss melts her cold heart, and he reveals to her his real name. Instead of announcing the Prince's real name, the Princess rather declares that she is marrying the Prince whose name is "Love".
For admission information and ticket information, please refer to the website of the Tsinghua University Art & Education Center for the Performing Arts www.hall.tsinghua.edu.cn.
Writer: Soon Yu
Editors: Guo Lili, Sangeet Sangroula
